Connect with me

We have so much fun with our Elf on the Shelf. It has become a great source of magic and excitement in our house during the holidays. I have seen a lot of naughty elves on the web... but our "Elfie" is a nice elf. I think he knows I have enough to do without cleaning up his messes. lol

Do you do a countdown to Christmas? Well... this year, our Elf on the Shelf saved us the trouble of making an advent calendar... he made one for us.

While we were sleeping, "Elfie" dug out our Christmas books and movies, wrapped each one, and created a Christmas countdown for us. He even numbered them 1-24 so that we would know when to open each one. I have a feeling that the one for Christmas Eve might be "The Night Before Christmas". {wink!}

Isn't this a fun Elf on the Shelf idea? What is your favorite way to count down to the big day?

When crafting with a group of preschoolers, I like to keep things simple. If small children have to wait around for a lot of help, they will lose interest and move on to something else. This craft is definitely a simple one.

To make a Santa beard, it is best to do a little "prep work" before involving the little ones. First, print out the beard template, which you can find here.

Then, tape a popsicle stick to the back of the beard.

Now it is time to involve the preschooler. Just let him/her glue cotton balls all over the beard. What preschooler doesn't love a craft that involves lots of glue?

It's an easy craft to make, and it is fun for little ones to "play Santa" over the holidays. Do you have a favorite holiday craft to make with Preschoolers?

All three of my boys are huge Star Wars fans, so it isn't surprising that my oldest son requested a Star Wars theme for his 7th birthday party. Today, I am sharing all the fun DIY details of the super-fun "Jedi Training Academy" I hosted for my son and his little Jedi friends.

Here's what we did....

1) We set the mood with a fun invitation. {You can get the full tutorial for it here.}

2) As guests arrived, they colored their own Jedi Academy Security Badge {which I made by scanning a page out of one of their coloring books}.

3) We played a little "Freeze Dance" to Star Wars music, and then we took a break for dinner, cake and cookies.

4) After everyone finished eating, it was time for some lightsaber training. The kids balanced balloons on their lightsabers, my husband gave them some "formal" instruction, and they took a final "test" by fighting Darth Vader... who was actually my five year old.{You can find the tutorial for the pool noodle lightsabers here.}

5) The final activity was to "Destroy the Death Star" aka break open the pinata. {You can find the full tutorial for the pinata here.}

Finally, it was time for the new Jedi to:

...receive their Graduation Certificates

﻿...have a quick "photo op"

﻿...and collect their treat bags.

My son loved his party, and all the kids had a great time. Isn't Star Wars a great theme for a party?

I can't believe that I have been a mother for 7 years. How is it possible that it seems like yesterday, and yet I can barely remember my life before?

Each year, I write my boys letters on their birthdays, and I hope to make them into books when they are older. Here is my letter to my oldest son on his 7th birthday:Dear Cameron,Whenever I think of you, the word "angel" always comes to mind. You are such a special boy, and you have such a kind heart. Here are just a few of the things that make you such a fantastic 7 year old.

You are a great big brother. Little brothers can sometimes be a pain, but you are patient and kind with them, and they love you very much.

You are losing lots of baby teeth now, and your toothless grin is very cute.

You are developing a great sense of humour, and you are always laughing at the crazy antics of your little brothers.

You always try your best, and you are determined to succeed when you are trying something new. This summer, you learned to ride a two wheeler, and you were very proud.

You love to draw, read and write stories. You are very creative, and you want to be an Actor {in movies} when you grow up.

You love pancakes, cookies, pizza, and peanut butter sandwiches.

Your favorite sport is hockey, and you never complain about hockey practice... even when it is early in the morning. {You even sleep with two hockey player "stuffies".}

You still let me kiss and hug you when I drop you off at school, but you are starting to check to see if anyone is around before you kiss me back. :-(

You love Star Wars and never get tired of playing "Jedi" with your brothers.

You have lots of great friends, and I am not surprised because you are an awesome kid!

Happy Birthday, my sweet angel! You may be seven, but you will always be my first baby.

For my son's 7th birthday, I made all of the guests {20 of them} lightsabers out of pool noodles. I have seen a ton of different versions floating around on the web, but today I am sharing my version.

Aren't they so cute?

Here is how I made them:

1) My husband cut all the pool noodles in half using a utility knife. Then, I used silver duct tape to create a handle. I made a "criss cross" on the bottom. Then, I wrapped four separate pieces around the noodle.

2) Then, I made a simple design using black electrical tape {see below}, and I added a little red sticker for a power button.

The pool noodles are great for little ones because they are so soft.

I think these the lightsabers were the highlight of our DIY Star Wars party. I would highly recommend them for any Star Wars celebration.

Google+ Badge

Follow me on Pinterest

Included among the best...

and...

Proudly part of the...

And...

TERMS OF USE/ COPYRIGHT

Please use my ideas and downloads in your home or school. If you wish to share a post, you may use one picture with a link to the original post; however, do not use any photos of a child, a template, or a free printable without written permission (which can be obtained through me at EastCoastMommy@gmail.com).

Please do not (under any circumstances) copy or duplicate a post's instructions or recipe without written permission. All content on this site is copyrighted and belongs to Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy). Thank you!

Contact me by email

Disclosure Policy

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

This blog abides by word of mouth marketing standards. I believe in honesty of relationship, opinion and identity. The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post will be clearly identified as paid or sponsored content.

The owner of this blog is compensated to provide opinions on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner of this receives compensation for her posts or advertisements, she always gives her honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blogger's own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.